


Nicole's Candy Shoppe

by Mischieftess



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Candy Canes, Christmas, F/F, Flirting, Happy Holigays!, Holidays, Meet-Cute, My only g-rated fic, One Shot, Red glasses teacher Waverly, Santa hat candymaker Nicole, ish, thirst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-25 03:39:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17113757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischieftess/pseuds/Mischieftess
Summary: Waverly takes her first-grade class to see candy being made and meets someone new.Nicole looks up from her work and sees a teacher with a beguiling smile.They see each other, and magic is made.





	Nicole's Candy Shoppe

**Author's Note:**

> Written live on Twitter and then fleshed out for AO3 in response to this prompt by @SheriffHaught1! [Candy Shoppe Thread](https://twitter.com/SheriffHaught1/status/1071419627538956291)
> 
> Prompt: Christmas AU where Nicole is an old fashioned candy maker and Waverly takes her 1st grade class on a holiday field trip to see candy being made.

When Waverly was just a little kid, in the December of first grade, her teacher took the class to a small candy factory where Waverly got to see how sweets were made. It had been a wonderful adventure for a kid who hadn’t had a great year - her daddy and Willa died, Wynonna was sent away, and Mama had already been gone for a long time. Aunt Gus was a wonderful guardian, and Waverly owed her more than she could say for raising her so well - but still, that year, that _time_ of year, had been so hard that her class trip had been magical, steeped in the scents of peppermint and snowy winter mixing together, the taste of sweet candy melting in her mouth, and it still resonated with her today.

That memory of precious happiness amidst chaos brought her here, now, taking her own first grade class to a newly-opened candy factory a few minutes’ drive from Purgatory Elementary. The world was going crazy, her country was pioneering new heights of political and military malfeasance, and many of her kids had parents in the military and a hard home life. Waverly wanted to give her kids a magical experience like hers had been.

To set up this tour, Waverly had exchanged several messages with the PR manager, Rosita, for Nicole’s Candy Shoppe. The employees would be out on lunch from 12-1, and most of the machines would be off so that the owner could run a private tour for the kids.

Rosita turned out to be a friendly woman who helped shepherd Waverly’s class through the factory entryway, telling Waverly, "She's ready for you, look for the Santa hat."

The path seemed clear of danger, but as a fairly new teacher Waverly’s rear was on the line if her children hurt themselves on a field trip. So, she checked for the emergency exits and had her kids hold their safety-buddies’ hands and count off, just to be safe. 

As she herded her kids through the narrow door to the factory floor, Waverly tried to manage her expectations. _It might not go off perfectly, and that’s ok, just as long as they see some cool stuff and get sweets at the end, it’ll be great._

Once they got out onto the floor, Waverly saw how the factory had been set up - there was a completely isolated path along one wall, slightly elevated and walled by four-foot glass barricades, perfect to give people a view without allowing them to vault over. A number of large machines filled the area, but Waverly could see someone in a santa hat working halfway down and shooed the kids down the path toward them.

Waverly was immediately fascinated by the process. The redheaded woman's arms were long, her fingers protected by silicone mitts as she gripped a wooden paddle firmly and slid it under the soft hump of white candy. She folded it over, turned the log, and did it again. Her sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, revealing corded muscle standing out on her forearms.

 

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

 

The scents of peppermint and vanilla swirled through the air as Nicole manhandled - _Womanhandled,_ she thought with an internal snicker - the warm, malleable logs of colored sugar on her heated table. She’d already prepped them before the tour was due to start, flavoring the soft, translucent melted sugar before folding air into the white and color into the red. Since little kids could only be counted on for about 20 minutes of focus at a time, they’d get to see the best part.

But Nicole was excited! This was the first kids’ tour group to come through for the holiday season, and she hoped she could give them a good time. Just minutes before, she’d swapped her hairnet for a santa hat, put on a red-and-white striped apron, and was just biding her time for them to arrive.

She looked up, only to see a dozen little faces smooshed up against the glass separating her from the tour area.

_Oh, they’re here!_

She laughed and waved with her silicone-mitted hand. They all waved back, but Nicole’s attention was diverted for a moment by a slender woman at the back of the class who also, shyly, waved back. Nicole's smile broadened and she winked, delighted to see a blush as the teacher looked away and adjusted her red-framed glasses.

Nicole cleared her throat, preparing to start the tour. "Hello everybody! I'm Miss Nicole." When all the little voices had greeted her, she continued. "I make candy as my job. Raise your hand if you know what goes into candy." A bunch of hands waved in the air, and she laughed.

 

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

 

Waverly watched as the candy-maker, as Nicole, expertly managed the class's answers - “One at a time, I’ll call on you!” - while she continued turning and shaping the glossy, slowly-deforming candy. Nicole was tall, her hair russet underneath a jaunty Santa hat, and she had very fair skin and very brown, very warm eyes.

Then Nicole laughed again. She had an extremely distracting laugh. She waved at Waverly, who started a little.

 _What?_ Waverly thought, and looked down to see her class staring back at her.

Nicole saved her from her inattention, repeating her question. "What's your favorite candy, Miss...?"

Waverly stammered, "Oh, me! Um. I - I suppose..." She scrambled for words. "I've always liked vanilla." Nicole beamed and the expression somehow washed over Waverly in a cascade of warmth, sending goosebumps pricking down her spine.

 _What is happening?_ Waverly thought.  
  
Still grinning, Nicole said, "What a coincidence! I'm making vanilla-peppermint candy canes today!" The kids cheered.

It wasn’t until Nicole moved on with her explanation to the kids that Waverly realized she hadn’t answered the question about her _name_.

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

 

With one last look at the teacher - she really was adorable, all dressed up for the holiday in a red skirt and holiday-themed green blazer - Nicole waved a hand at her warming table, speaking for the kids. "I have the pieces of a candy cane right here. They sure don't look like a candy cane, do they?”

At the chorus of “No!” from the kids, Nicole held up a hand. “It will be, just watch!"

Nicole defly rolled the big log of white candy into a cylinder, the scent of warm peppermint wafting off of it. It had to weigh twenty pounds, and she relished the tension in her arms as she shaped it. "This white piece is flavored with peppermint, and these -"

Nicole took the two red logs, much smaller than the white, and swiftly rolled them and pushed them into the white, leaving just a short distance between them. "These red ones are the vanilla. I like to add a little vanilla to everything, because it tastes wonderful!”

Nicole cast a knowing look at the teacher, who looked just as interested as the kids. “Now," Nicole said, rolling the log along the table to smooth it back into a cylinder, “It’s time to make this into a candy cane!”

 

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

 

Waverly gaped as Nicole's arms strained, muscles flexing under skin as she hefted the big roll of candy right off the table, placing it in a cart. Then Nicole said, "Come on, everyone, follow me!" and began rolling the cart along the floor. Waverly snapped into action.

Waverly counted the little heads of her kids, making sure none had wandered off while she stood in a befuddled daze, and shooed them forward along the elevated pathway, tracking Nicole's movements as she wheeled the candy to a long machine with a trench along the center, lined with what looked like big rollers. It was placed right next to the tour glass, obviously receiving pride of place for its complexity and the spectacle of its process.

Nicole’s apron was open in the back. Her black boots laced up to mid-calf, revealing khaki pants covering her nice, long legs, topped with a really tight- Nicole turned around and Waverly jerked her gaze up from where she’d been looking to Nicole’s face, which carried an amused eyebrow quirk.

 _Crap, did she see me looking? Do I_ **_mind_ ** _that she saw me looking? Waverly, this isn’t professional at._ **_all_** _._

The candymaker said, "Show me with your hands how big a candy cane is!" Without thinking about it, Waverly also demonstrated, just like the kids were doing. Nicole _definitely_ winked at her again, and Waverly didn't look away this time, deciding to lean into whatever was happening.

 _I think she’s_ **_flirting_ ** _with me!_

Nicole gestured at the log of candy. "Well, this isn't ready yet, is it?" At the chorus of "Nooo" and head shakes - including the teacher - Nicole nodded. "You're right! It's way too big. Also, raise your hands, who knows what’s wrong with the red lines?”

When Nicole called on him where he stood, almost dancing with impatience to speak, Waverly’s class clown yelled out, “They’re too straight!” and Nicole laughed. Waverly thought her merriment seemed extreme for the answer, and Waverly’s suspicions only grew.

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

 

Nicole clapped her mitts together, shaking off her merriment. _Too straight is right, kid_. “You’re right! The red lines are too straight! So this machine is going to help me!"

Nicole patted Big Bertha, the candy batch roller, with her silicone-mitted hand. It was all warmed up and ready to go. "Watch carefully," Nicole called, intending it for the kids AND their adorable teacher, and she heaved the log up and laid it between the rollers before she hit the switch.

The kids made a variety of ooooohs as the machine hummed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw them all craning their necks to watch the rollers spinning the log of candy. The V-shape of its design made the log elongate, beginning to stretch it into a cone, and as it thinned the difference in velocity made the red candy lines start to spin around its axis.

_Perfect, as always._

 

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

 

Despite the draw of the big, fancy machine and its magic candy-making process, Waverly kept her attention fixed on Nicole, who had turned and was monitoring the machine with one careful eye while she moved to the far end.

Likewise, Waverly drifted down the path, kept one eye on her kids as she watched to see what Nicole was doing and, despite her strong words to herself about appropriate behavior, enjoying the view. Nicole’s shoulders were nice, too, broad and muscular under a deep green button-down shirt.

Waverly found herself biting her lip and scolded herself. _Is this really the time?_

Unexpectedly, her libido replied. _It’s been two years, this is_ ** _exactly_** _the time! And_ ** _look_** _at her, god, I want to climb her like a tree._

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

 

Nicole stopped at the end of the machine and turned. Nicole always enjoyed the opportunity to see the kids' entranced faces as they watched the cone elongate, stretching and twisting into the recognizable candy-stripe they all knew and loved. They edged down the path inch by inch in a big clump, watching the candy get thinner and thinner.

Nicole looked for their teacher and saw that she'd come even closer, leaning on the railing to peer over the edge. _Did she unbutton her shirt?_ There was definitely a little more chest showing than before. Their eyes met and the woman _smiled_ at Nicole. Nicole felt her ears warming and she resisted the urge to look away, widening her eyes and grinning back.

Then Bertha beeped and Nicole looked down, readying herself for the onslaught. "This is the fun part!" she called to get the kids’ - and their teacher’s - attention, and then seven-inch rods of perfectly-striped candy began to slide out onto the slick, cold steel counter. She grasped the first and bent it, long practice making the curve perfect, then did the same to the next, and the next.

 

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

 

Waverly was transfixed, just like the kids, by Nicole's quick, expert handling, how the perfectly curved candy canes were taking shape right before their eyes. Waverly's attention, however, was less on the candy than on the candymaker, on her focused eyes and the tip of her tongue peeking out between her lips.

Waverly noticed a little drip of sweat leaking down from Nicole's hairline, trickling past her eyebrow, and she tossed her head back as she continued to work. Waverly licked her own lips. She didn't know what was drawing her to this woman but she wouldn’t deny it - she wanted more.

 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

 

Bertha beeped once more and Nicole fielded the last two pieces of candy, sweeping them down the table with an unnecessary but hopefully-sexy flourish. She looked up, triumphant. The teacher, followed by the kids, burst into spontaneous cheers and excited applause. Nicole bowed.

"Now that you’ve seen how candy canes are made," Nicole said. "Does anyone want to try them? Follow your teacher," she cautioned as the kids braced for a sprint. "There's plenty for everybody." Deciding to go for broke, she smiled at the teacher and said, “I even have something special for your teacher!” The woman definitely winked at her and Nicole's cheeks ached with the breadth of her smile.

 

HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO

 

 _That dimple is deadly,_ Waverly thought as she led the kids down the path to the door. Her heart was thudding and she felt unexpectedly anxious about seeing Nicole from just feet away. Through the door, a big square table had been assembled from four smaller ones and was edged with wide benches, and Rosita was waiting to direct kids to seats. Waverly spent a minute getting the kids settled.

Nicole entered from another door, machines visible behind her as it swung shut. She held a canvas bag in one hand and didn't even flinch as the kids fixated on it with predatory attention.

"Hi kids!" she chirped, and they called greetings back at her. "Ready to try it?"

"YES!" the kids roared.

Nicole gave a handful of candy canes to her assistant and they both passed along behind the kids, giving them a candy cane apiece. The room was quickly filled with the sound of kids slurping and chattering about their candy. Waverly kept a careful eye on two girls sword-fighting with their still-blunt canes, just waiting for the moment that someone realized they could make it into a shank and put an eye out.

Waverly didn't notice that Nicole had stopped next to her for a long moment, but she caught the intense scent of vanilla and turned. Nicole smiled down at her. _Oh, she's tall,_ Waverly thought, _and her dimple is… distracting._  
  
"Hi," Nicole said, and offered Waverly a something. "I’m Nicole. What's your name?"

Waverly accepted the candy automatically. "Waverly, um, I’m Waverly. Hi, Nicole." She could feel the fluttering in her chest, the traitorous heat creeping up her neck again. Then she looked down at her candy cane. Unlike the others, this one was curved on both ends and bent to a sharp angle in the middle, making a heart shape. There was a little tag attached to a string tied around the unwrapped candy, and she caught it in one hand.

Nicole watched nervously as Waverly examined the tag with her hastily-written name and phone number on it. She cleared her throat, nerves attempting to get the better of her boldness, but forged ahead. "I - um. When I see something I want, I don’t want to wait so, Waverly.”

Her name in Nicole’s voice, shaped by those lips, sent shivers down Waverly’s spine.

Nicole seemed to steel herself. “Would you like to go get dinner with me sometime, Waverly?"

Waverly blinked. "Yes, Nicole," she said, thoughtfully, looking up at that dimple blooming anew, the hope in those deep brown eyes, and matching the expression with her own growing smile. "I think I'd like that very much."

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holigays, everyone! Find me on Twitter here: [@SmugMischief](https://twitter.com/SmugMischief)


End file.
